Cooktops and Wall Ovens

Separate appliances give you the flexibility of two cooking areas, with burners and ovens placed just about anywhere you want. You also have the option of cooking with gas, electricity, or induction.

Like ranges, cooktops come in electric and gas versions. More consumers go for electric than gas, generally opting for glass ceramic smoothtops. There are fewer coil models from which to choose, but you may want to consider one if price is more important than style. Gas cooktops come in several types, including stainless-steel models with pro-style controls and hefty grates and gas-on-glass models with burners on a glass ceramic surface. Cooktops with a porcelain enamel top are the lowest priced.

Gaggenau, Viking, Kenmore, and other brands are also introducing stand-alone induction cooktops, which cook via glass-covered magnetic coils that send nearly all of their heat to the pan, rather than the cooking surface. Besides heating faster than gas or electric cooktops, induction models respond instantly to the controls, but they require special cookware to work (if a magnet sticks to the pot, it’s OK).

Because about one-third of cooktops and wall ovens are sold as part of a kitchen makeover, style sells. More and more of the appliances have sleek, flush surfaces that are easy to clean or stainless-steel skins that let you easily mix and match brands.

Flexibility is the biggest reason to forgo the typical range and buy a separate cooktop and wall oven instead. However, the two appliances usually cost more than a similar range. And you’ll need to check the reliability of two appliances instead of one. Our tests show that you can bring home a pair of fine performers for about $1,300 for a 30-inch electric cooktop and electric oven. A smoothtop range with similar performance would cost about half that. But if you want more than four pots going at once, it won’t cost you too much to upgrade from a 30-inch cooktop with four burners or elements to a 36-inch model with five or six. In most cases, the difference is $100 to $400.


WHAT'S AVAILABLE

Frigidaire, GE, Jenn-Air, Kenmore, KitchenAid, Maytag, and Whirlpool are the leading makers of cooktops and wall ovens. Mainstream brands have established high-end offshoots, such as Kenmore Elite, GE Profile, and Whirlpool Gold. High-end, pro-style brands include Bosch, Dacor, GE Monogram, KitchenAid Pro-Line, Thermador, Viking, and Wolf.

Cooktops. You can install a cooktop on a kitchen island or other location where counter space allows. Cooktops can be electric coil, electric smoothtop, gas, or induction. Cooktops add flexibility since they can be located separately from the oven. Most are 30 inches wide and are made of porcelain-coated steel or glass ceramic, with four elements or burners. Some are 24 or 36 inches wide, depending on the number of burners.

Modular cooktops let you mix and match parts—removing burners and adding a grill, say—but you pay a premium for that added flexibility. Pre-configured cooktops are less expensive. Price range: electric cooktop, $250 to $1,500; gas cooktop, $250 to $2,500; induction cooktop, $1,800 and up.

Wall ovens. These can be single or double, electric or gas, self-cleaning or manual, with or without a convection setting. Width is typically 24, 27, or 30 inches. They allow you to eliminate bending by installing them at waist or eye level, though you can also nest them beneath a countertop to save space. Price range: $500 to more than $2,500 for double-oven models; figure on about $300 extra for convection.


HOW TO CHOOSE

Cooktop/wall oven or a range? With a cooktop/wall oven combo, you can put the appliances pretty much anywhere in the kitchen and mount the oven at a convenient height. Choose a range if you want it to be the centerpiece, as a professional-style model would be.

Installing separate appliances is more work. Electric wall ovens and cooktops each need their own electrical circuit and are best installed by a professional.

Gas, electric, or induction? If you have gas service, you might want to use both fuels. Electric wall ovens generally have a larger capacity than gas ones, and they’re easier to install. With cooktops, the quick response of a gas flame might better suit your style of cooking. Gas performs very well in our tests. We have found, however, that electric cooktops tend to boil water faster and simmer sauces better. Induction offers faster heater, flawless simmering, and burners that shut off automatically when you remove the pot. But in addition to being more expensive, the reliability of the technology is unproven.

Consider cleanup and safety. To minimize the parts you need to clean around, look for a smooth-surface cooktop and an oven with a covered bottom heating element and smooth touchpad controls.

Cooktops stay hot for a while after you turn off the heat. Since smoothtops blend into the surrounding counter, children and unwary adults could get burned. For safety, smoothtops have lights to signal which element is still hot.